Study Weighs In on Diets for Kids

FRIDAY, March 30 (HealthDay News) -- If you're trying to get your child to drop a few pounds, here's some food for thought: A new study finds that among three types of diets, kids preferred the one emphasizing foods that don't cause blood-sugar imbalances.

Kids also lost weight on the other two diets, however.

"We know the diets are effective. The question now is how we can get people to follow them," said study lead author Shelley Kirk, a dietitian and assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

About 20 percent of children aged 6 to 11 in the United States are obese, which is a step beyond simply being overweight, according to statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rate is similar in adolescents aged 12 to 19.

In the new study, researchers examined 85 obese 7- to 12-year-olds who accepted an assigned diet for a year. The kids had weekly dietary counseling and biweekly exercise sessions for the first three months, and then were on their own for the remaining nine months.

One of the diets is similar to the Atkins diet for adults, and focused on very low carbohydrate consumption and a lot of high-protein foods. Another diet focused on foods with low glycemic indexes (such as fruit, nonstarchy vegetables, whole grains, poultry and fish) that are less likely to cause blood-sugar levels to fluctuate. The third diet focused on controlling food portions and making sure calories overall were 55 percent to 60 percent carbohydrates, 10 percent to 15 percent protein, and 30 percent fat.

The researchers found that the participants on average lowered their body mass index (BMI) -- a measurement of body fat based on height and weight -- and the percentage of fat in their bodies. Their waist sizes didn't decrease after a year, but it's not clear if that's because they grew.

The children had the most difficulty following the low-carbohydrate diet and the easiest time with the low-glycemic diet, Kirk said.

Overall, most of the kids lost weight on the diets, Kirk noted.

Cathleen Davis, a clinical dietitian and nutritionist who works with children at Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center in Babylon, N.Y., applauded the study and explained why the diets might have differed in popularity.

She said the portion-controlled and low-glycemic diets are probably better tolerated "because they both are more mainstream diets that the parents would be familiar and comfortable with."

What should you do if you'd like to put your child on a diet?

"Ask your pediatrician about local reputable programs and look on Eatright.org to find a registered dietitian serving your area," Davis said. "Make tiny changes and expect bad days -- absolutely no one eats perfectly 100 percent of the time. And be very careful of programs that push supplements, make any type of claim for immediate success and don't have licensed credentials."

The study was released online March 1 in advance of publication in an upcoming print issue of the Journal of Pediatrics.

More information

For more about kids and obesity, try the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

SOURCES: Shelley Kirk, Ph.D., R.D., dietitian, assistant professor of clinical pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and center director, HealthWorks!, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center; Cathleen Davis, M.S., R.D., clinical dietitian/nutritionist, Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center, Babylon, N.Y.; March 1, 2012, Journal of Pediatrics, online

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Depression Often Follows Stroke, But Treatment Lacking

Depression Often Follows Stroke, But Treatment Lacking

THURSDAY, March 29 (HealthDay News) -- While depression is common among people who've survived a stroke, it too often goes undiagnosed and untreated, research shows.

"Patients need to be open about their symptoms of depression and discuss them with their physicians so that they can work together to improve outcomes," study co-author Dr. Nada El Husseini, a stroke fellow in the neurology division at Duke University Medical Center, said in a news release from the journal Stroke.

The study included 1,450 adults survivors of ischemic stroke (involving blocked blood flow to the brain) and 397 with a transient ischemic attack (TIA or "mini-stroke").

The researchers found that about 18 percent of the stroke patients and more than 14 percent of the TIA patients were depressed three months after their hospitalization.

Twelve months after hospitalization, 16.4 percent of stroke patients and almost 13 percent of TIA patients had depression, according to the study, published March 29 in the journal Stroke.

El Husseini believes that "it is important for physicians to screen for depression on follow-up after both stroke and TIA."

The study also found that nearly 70 percent of stroke and TIA patients with persistent depression were not receiving antidepressant therapy at either three or 12 months after hospitalization.

Most patients with stroke had only mild disability and only a few TIA patients had severe disability, but depression rates in both groups of patients were similar.

"The similar rates of depression following stroke and TIA could be due to similarities in the rates of other medical conditions or to the direct effects of brain injury on the risk of depression, but more studies are needed," El Husseini said.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more about depression and stroke.

Source: health.msn.com

Inadequate Bowel Prep May Invalidate Colonoscopy

THURSDAY, March 29 (HealthDay News) -- Doctors may fail to detect precancerous growths if patients' colons aren't adequately cleansed before having a colonoscopy, a new study warns.

On the day before a colonoscopy, patients are instructed to stop eating solid food and to consume only clear liquids. They also drink bowel-cleansing mixtures to empty the colon.

However, previous research suggests that up to one-quarter of colonoscopy patients fail to adequately cleanse their colons. The new study, from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, examined the potential consequences of poor bowel preparation.

Researchers identified 373 patients who underwent a colonoscopy between 2004 and 2009, and had inadequate bowel preparation. Of the 133 patients who later had a second colonoscopy, nearly 34 percent had at least one precancerous growth detected in the repeat screening.

Nearly one in five of those patients was considered to be at high risk for colon cancer because they either had more than three precancerous growths detected, or at least one large growth.

The researchers also found that 18 percent of the patients who had a second colonoscopy would have received different recommendations from doctors if their precancerous growths had been detected during the initial colonoscopy. For example, they may have been advised to have more frequent colonoscopies to monitor the growths in their colon.

The study was released online Feb. 28 in advance of publication in an upcoming print issue of the journal Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

"Because so many of the patients had a follow-up screening less than a year after the initial test, we strongly suspect that most of the precancerous growths found during the second colonoscopy already were present at the time of the initial test," first author and gastroenterology fellow Dr. Reena Chokshi said in a university news release.

The findings suggest that if a doctor is having difficulty viewing a patient's colon because of inadequate bowel prep, the colonoscopy should be stopped and rescheduled.

"We often can detect preparation problems during the first few minutes of the procedure," Chokshi said. "And based on this study, we would say that rather than subjecting a patient to the potential risks of a full colonoscopy when we may not be able to detect polyps, or other precancerous growths called adenomas, it may be better to bring that patient back as soon as possible for a repeat procedure with better bowel preparation."

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases has more about colonoscopy.

SOURCE: Washington University in St. Louis, news release, March 26, 2012

Credit

Frustrated By Acne? Follow These Proven Tips

Frustrated By Acne? Follow These Proven Tips
Not to scare you or anything, but acne is actually a skin disease. A majority of people actually face minor to extreme issues with acne. This is why the acne treatment market is so lucrative. If you're having trouble with acne, you can use the following tips to help you out.
Source: EzineArticles.com

Legal Experts Try to Divine the Supreme Court's Health-Care Tea Leaves

Legal Experts Try to Divine the Supreme Court's Health-Care Tea Leaves

THURSDAY, March 29 (HealthDay News) -- Now comes the hard part.

Following three days of arguments that ended Wednesday over the constitutionality of the health-reform legislation passed by Congress in 2010, the nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court will settle in to decide whether the entire law -- or key provisions -- can stand.

Their decision is expected in June.

Equally hard is trying to predict just how the justices -- typically described as four conservatives, four liberals and one "swing" member -- will vote on the polarizing legislation.

Twenty-six states have challenged the constitutionality of the law, primarily over two provisions -- a requirement that most adults have health insurance by 2014 or face a penalty, and an expansion of Medicaid, the government-run insurance program for lower-income individuals.

"It's very hard to tell what can happen as a result of the oral arguments. [Justice Samuel] Alito has moved firmly into my 'no' vote column. But I think [Chief Justice John] Roberts and [Justice Anthony] Kennedy are still possible votes to uphold the statute," said Renee Landers, a professor at Suffolk University Law School in Boston, who wrote a recent commentary on the law in the New England Journal of Medicine.

"I think we learned from the oral arguments that definitely the four Democratic appointees -- [Justice Ruth Bader] Ginsburg, [Justice Stephen] Breyer, [Justice Sonia] Sotomayor and [Justice Elena] Kagan -- will definitely vote to uphold every part of the statute," she said.

But another legal expert said it can be risky to read too much into what the justices had to say this week.

"Before the arguments started, if you asked me my prediction, I would have told you that I thought it would be a very close case and I would put my money on the court upholding the law by a 5-4 decision -- and that's still what I would say," said Gregory Magarian, a professor at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis.

Still, Magarian had this caution: "It's hard to look at it and say it's a slam-dunk that they're going to uphold the thing."

Even before this week's arguments, Stephen Presser, a professor of legal history at Northwestern University School of Law, predicted that the Supreme Court would find the health-reform law unconstitutional.

Now, "it's even more likely than I thought it was before," Presser said. "What we've got is five justices, ones we suspected -- Roberts, Alito, Scalia, [Clarence] Thomas and Kennedy -- all expressing skepticism and, indeed, all five perhaps hinting that throwing out the whole Affordable Care Act is the right move in this case," he added.

"The clear message is that the 10th Amendment [which concerns the division of powers between the federal and state governments] still has some teeth," Presser said.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is the most ambitious government health-care initiative since the Medicare and Medicaid programs of the 1960s. Key provisions of the 2,409-page law include:

• The so-called -- and highly controversial -- individual mandate, which requires almost all adults to have health insurance by 2014 or pay a penalty. Up to 16 million people are projected to join the rolls of the insured under the mandate.
• Medicaid expansion. This would increase eligibility to all people under age 65 with annual incomes up to 133 percent of the federal poverty level -- about $14,850 for a single adult and $30,650 for a family of four in 2012. Another 16 million people are estimated to gain insurance under the expansion. The 26 states challenging the law contend that this expansion is a coercive move by the federal government and one that states can't afford.
• State-run insurance exchanges. They will be created to help small businesses and individuals buy insurance through a more organized and competitive market.

Individual mandate appears to be at risk

One thing became very clear during this week's legal challenges -- the provision that almost all adult Americans have health insurance or face a financial penalty may be in jeopardy.

Robert Field, a professor of law in the department of health management and policy at Drexel University's School of Public Health, said the individual mandate seems at greater risk than it did prior to this week's arguments before the court.

"One of the interesting aspects of the oral arguments is -- this one anyway -- it's more important what the justices revealed to us than what the lawyers revealed to the justices," Field said.

Regarding Justice Kennedy, considered the swing vote, Field said: "Based on [Tuesday's arguments], I predict he would rule against it [the mandate]. Of course, I have to preface that by saying that predictions are always dangerous."

He added, however, "I would predict that they will not rule against the act as a whole. There's just too much there that is clearly unrelated to the mandate."

Landers thinks the mandate itself might survive. "I don't think all bets are off yet," she said. "Reports of its demise are premature."

Supporters of the individual mandate argue that without the requirement that people have insurance coverage while they're healthy, there won't be enough money in the risk pool to pay to take care of them when the need for health care eventually -- and inevitably -- arises.

No agreement on whether the law can survive without mandate

Landers believes that even if the individual mandate were to fall, the rest of the law will still stand.

"Both Justice Kennedy and Chief Justice Roberts made this point each a couple of times during the arguments: there has to be deference to Congress, and the court is not in the place of second-guessing the alternatives Congress has chosen," she said. "The court overturning a congressional statute is a big deal."

But Northwestern's Presser suggested that if the individual mandate is thrown out, the court's four liberal justices might join with the conservatives in voting against the whole act.

The Affordable Care Act has been controversial since it was passed by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama in March 2010. Numerous polls have found that Americans especially don't like the individual mandate. But a recent Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll found that people are starting to accept certain key provisions of the law -- such as the ban on insurance companies turning away applicants with preexisting health problems.

On Wednesday, the court debated whether the health-reform law could function without the individual mandate. Justice Scalia referred to it as the "heart" of the statute. And if the mandate were ruled unconstitutional, Justice Ginsburg said the court would be left with a choice between "a wrecking operation" and "a salvage job," The New York Times reported.

But Landers said that the law's three mechanisms to insure more Americans -- the individual mandate, the expansion of Medicaid, and the government-run insurance exchanges -- don't depend on one another.

"Would it be better if all three worked in tandem? Yes," she said. "Does it totally undermine what Congress is trying to do if one piece of it falls out? No."

Drexel's Field said "the guts of the health reform plan are really the guaranteed issue provision -- that insurers can't deny coverage for preexisting conditions -- and the community-rating provision saying that they have to charge rates that are spread out over the community."

As for the Medicaid expansion, Landers and Magarian believe that it's safe, unless the entire law is ruled unconstitutional.

"Well, I don't want to say that, because a couple of months ago I would have said the mandate is fairly invulnerable," Field noted. "But I think the Medicaid expansion rests on stronger ground. For one thing, it's been upheld by every single lower court that's considered the issue."

More information

Visit George Washington University School of Law to learn about the opinion-writing process for the U.S. Supreme Court.

SOURCES: Renee M. Landers, J.D., professor of law, Suffolk University Law School, Boston; Robert Field, J.D., Ph.D., professor of law, department of health management and policy, School of Public Health, Drexel University, Philadelphia; Gregory Magarian, J.D., professor of law, School of Law, Washington University in St. Louis; Stephen Presser, J.D., Raoul Berger Professor of Legal History, Northwestern University School of Law, Chicago; The New York Times

Source: health.msn.com

Lifestyle Changes Help Type 2 Diabetics Keep Moving

WEDNESDAY, March 28 (HealthDay News) -- Weight loss and regular exercise help prevent disability in obese people with type 2 diabetes, according to new research.

After four years, 21 percent of people enrolled in a lifestyle-intervention program focusing on diet and physical activity had severe disability compared with 26 percent of those enrolled in a diabetes support group. What's more, the lifestyle-intervention group had about half the risk of losing their mobility compared to the support group.

"The lifestyle intervention combined caloric restriction and increased activity," said study author, W. Jack Rejeski, a professor of health and exercise science at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, in Winston-Salem, N.C. "More of the lifestyle intervention group remained in the good-mobility category. And, that was with modest changes. Just a 6 percent change in body weight helped to ward off an important outcome."

Results of the study are published in the March 29 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The study included slightly more than 5,000 overweight or obese adults who had type 2 diabetes. All were between the ages of 45 and 74, with an average age of 59. The researchers excluded anyone with a hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) above 11 percent. HbA1C is a long-term measure of blood-sugar control, and the American Diabetes Association generally recommends that people with diabetes should aim for an HbA1C of less than 7 percent. They also excluded people with very high blood pressure or high triglycerides (a type of blood fat).

At the start of the study, just one-third of the study volunteers reported good mobility. That means around two-thirds had at least some type of mobility disability, according to the study.

The volunteers were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups. The first included lifestyle interventions to lose weight and get more physical activity. The goal in this group was to lose more than 7 percent of body weight and exercise more than 175 minutes a week, according to the study. The second group was a diabetes support and education program.

To evaluate mobility, the researchers asked the study volunteers how well they could perform certain activities, such as running, lifting heavy objects, pushing a vacuum cleaner, playing golf, climbing a flight of stairs, bending, kneeling, stooping, walking more than a mile or walking one block.

At the end of four years, those in the lifestyle intervention group had a 48 percent reduction in mobility-related disability compared to the support group.

Almost 39 percent of the lifestyle intervention group reported good mobility at the end of the study compared to 32 percent of those in the support group, according to the study.

For every reduction of 1 percent of body weight, there was a 7.3 percent reduction in the risk of mobility disability. For every 1 percent improvement in fitness, there was a 1.4 percent drop in the risk of mobility disability. But, Rejeski pointed out that doing both interventions is best for your overall health.

"If all you do is lose weight, the danger of losing muscle mass is greater. The message is that you need to lose weight and be active to enhance your function and not lose muscle mass," he said.

Dr. Joel Zonszein, director of the clinical diabetes center at Montefiore Medical Center, in New York City, said lifestyle changes are as important as medications. "Papers like this continue to show how important lifestyle changes are," Zonszein said. "But, the issue always is in the implementation. We can tell patients to exercise and lose weight, but we don't have the resources to follow up as they do in clinical trials."

For people who want to make changes on their own, Rejeski recommended trying to cut calorie consumption to about 1,800 calories a day. Then, he said, find a place to walk -- the mall, a walking path, a school track -- and get a walking buddy so that you can each keep the other one accountable. If you haven't exercised in a while, start by walking just a little bit, and then the next day add a few more steps. "Eventually, you'll make progress. And, the lower your function was to start with, the more you'll notice the change," he said.

Current U.S. government recommendations are to exercise at a moderate pace for at least 30 minutes most days of the week.

More information

Learn more about how exercise can benefit you from the U.S. National Institute on Aging.

SOURCES: W. Jack Rejeski, Ph.D., Thurman D. Kitchin professor, health and exercise science, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, N.C.; Joel Zonszein, M.D., director, clinical diabetes center, Montefiore Medical Center, New York City; March 29, 2012, New England Journal of Medicine

News Source

Lance Armstrong On Exercise, Diet And Why He Won't Go Into Politics

Lance Armstrong On Exercise, Diet And Why He Won't Go Into Politics

Lance Armstrong's name is synonymous with fitness, health, and more than anything else, success. His seven wins at Tour de France after beating testicular cancer set him on a path to philanthropy with the Lance Armstrong Foundation (better known as Livestrong), and he doesn't seem to have stopped during his "retirement." He's getting set to take part in his second Ironman event this year on April 1, in Texas, in order to qualify for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii in October.

Armstrong was in Toronto earlier this year to launch a new line of fitness equipment in partnership with Canadian Tire, and The Huffington Post Canada had a chance to sit down and talk candidly with the man who inspired 80 million yellow bracelets.

The Huffington Post Canada: This is the first line of fitness equipment you’ve ever done -- so why now?

Lance Armstrong: For whatever reason, maybe it’s because of my story, but people associate Livestrong with exercise and physical fitness, health and lifestyle choices like that. So to build on that, the question is, who’s your logical partner, who can make reliable, durable, trustworthy equipment, because you don’t want to have a piece of equipment that people are disappointed with if you’re putting a name or a brand on it.

HPC: How involved were you in the process of designing the equipment?

LA: Not that closely. Obviously, I come from one background, and the people that design fitness equipment have been doing it for years and years, and they know what works and doesn’t work.

HPC: And what's your own workout regimen?

LA: I exercise everyday. I swim, I bike, I run and I go to the gym. It’s anywhere from an hour to six hours a day.

It is difficult to do when you’re on the road. If I know I have a four, five day stretch travelling, then you build up to that and factor in a few recovery days, which essentially is what these end up being. I mean, I’ll fly home this afternoon and I’ll literally ride home from the airport, because my bike’s with us. So you just somehow fit it in.

SEE: 8 Things You Didn't Know About Lance Armstrong. Interview continues below:

He Has Five Kids ...

1  of  9

... currently ages 12, 10, 10, 2 and 1. For those who are old enough to do so, they were the last in their grades to start riding bikes. Lance Armstrong waves to his one year-old son, Max, as his children, Isabelle, Luke and Grace look on, on July 20, 2010 in Pau, Southwestern France. (JOEL SAGET/AFP/Getty Images)

... currently ages 12, 10, 10, 2 and 1. For those who are old enough to do so, they were the last in their grades to start riding bikes.

Lance Armstrong waves to his one year-old son, Max, as his children, Isabelle, Luke and Grace look on, on July 20, 2010 in Pau, Southwestern France. (JOEL SAGET/AFP/Getty Images)

He Has Five Kids ...

... currently ages 12, 10, 10, 2 and 1. For those who are old enough to do so, they were the last in their grades to start riding bikes. Lance Armstrong waves to his one year-old son, Max, as his children, Isabelle, Luke and Grace look on, on July 20, 2010 in Pau, Southwestern France. (JOEL SAGET/AFP/Getty Images)

HPC: For you, being involved with athletics as a child was very important. Is that something you’re stressing with your own kids?

LA: Yeah, I try. That’s a trickier scenario and proposition and dynamic, because they know that their dad was a professional athlete, so I don’t want to be that guy that’s like ‘you have to be the best at this and this.' I basically insist that they do something. They don’t have to necessarily love it, they certainly don’t have to be the best, but they have to do something to stay active. Otherwise, they’ll go crazy and I’ll go crazy.

HPC: In terms of the Livestrong mentality, obviously getting kids started early on a healthy lifestyle is important -- is that something that you advocate?

LA: Oh yeah. If we don’t somehow stem the tide of childhood obesity, we’re going to have a huge problem. If you just look at the rates of obesity and where they originate -- it always starts in the southeast [United States], and they eventually, almost like a cancer, kind of grow further to the northeast, and then it stretches out west.

And at the same time, we have this huge segment of our population that’s getting older, and as we know, cancer is a disease of the older population, so at some point these are going to cross, and we’ll be in a place where we can’t keep up with that. It’s all about prevention. I mean, prevention is a key factor with so many types of cancer, so whether that’s encouraging kids to exercise, or even encouraging adults to exercise, whether that’s encouraging kids to not smoke, encouraging kids to stop smoking -- all these preventative measures have, I think, been ignored for the most part.

HPC: Do you have a certain way you approach food?

LA: I didn’t for a long time until about a month ago until I started messing around with this new diet.

HPC: What changed?

LA: I started swimming again, and I swim with a guy [ed's note: former triathlete Rip Esselstyn] who started basically a food program called the Engine 2 Diet, which is a plant-based, 100% natural, organic diet. His dad was a famous cardiologist who did Forks Over Knives, and was President Clinton’s doctor. Clinton has gone to a completely vegan diet and he’s essentially erased his heart disease.

It’s basically whole grains, different types of beans, kale salad with creative alternatives for dressing. They’ll bring out something that looks like a brownie, but it’s not a brownie … though it tastes a bit like a brownie. So I did it for one day, then two days. Then I branched out and started doing it at breakfast and lunch. I still insist that I get to do whatever I want for dinner. But it’s made a significant difference in just in a month.

HPC: What kind of difference?

LA: Energy level. Even when you’re training really hard, it’s normal that you would have certain things for lunch or certain things for breakfast, and then have this dip, or almost like a food coma … I don’t experience that anymore. My energy level has never been this consistent, and not just consistent, but high. I’m a big napper -- I couldn’t even take a nap these days if I wanted to.

The other thing -- I expected to get rid of that dip, but I didn’t expect the mental side of it, and the sharpness and the focus that I’ve noticed. And I was the biggest non-believer, I was like ‘whatever man’, and I’m in. I’m not doing dinners yet, but breakfast and lunch, I’m in.

HPC: Do you think it’s pretty sustainable?

LA: If I were to stay in Austin, it’s very sustainable. It’s harder when you get on the road, of course -- I mean, you walk out that door and breakfast is sitting there. None of that [muffins, croissants, etc.] is on the Engine 2 diet. So it gets harder and harder. But you can even travel with stuff. Breakfast is not hard, you bring your cereal and then you go to the store and buy almond milk, you buy bananas to put on top of it. If you plan, then it’s possible.

HPC: On a different topic, there were rumours that you were thinking of running for political office, but you've refuted that. Why?

LA: Our job is to represent that community [of people with cancer]. And at the same time, we have to ask politicians for certain things, whether it’s funding or whether it’s to be a volunteer at an event. Politics are personal, so as soon as somebody picks a side, people get upset about that.

The other part is just the nasty nature of that world and the way that the media -- not to fault them, but the way that it’s just so hard on these people running for office. I mean,I could never put my kids through it. Even just having their dad being me and whatever’s gone on the last 20 years as an athlete … their world is different. You go into politics and it’s ruthless.

HPC: One last question. There's been a lot of discussion lately about helmet laws for bikes and general cyclist safety. Do you think biking should be a viable mode of transportation, not just for exercise?

LA: I definitely think it should be one of your options. But it’s a simple question with a deep answer, and the answer is that in order for it to get to that place, we have to provide the infrastructure for people to make that choice and say, ‘this is cool, I’ve got a protected way to work, and I’m not going to get buzzed by a car and it’s going to be safe, and when I get to work, I’m going to put my bike there and I’m going to take a shower and I’m here.’ But there’s not the infrastructure for that.

There are places that have done a better job. Portland, Oregon won’t build a mile of road without a mile of bike path. You can commute there, even with that weather, all the time. Even Lexington, Kentucky, Boston, Massachusetts, places that you would never think made it an initiative for their cities to do that.

I’m not sure that I totally support forcing or mandating [helmets]. I mean, people can do whatever they want. I look at it like ‘I’ve got five kids, I’ve got an organization to run.’ If I’m not here, or if I’m in a bad spot, then it wouldn’t be good. So that’s the choice that I make on a daily basis, which again, goes back to the prevention thing. Whether it’s not smoking, whether it’s wearing a helmet, putting on your seatbelt -- these are all simple measures that we know to save lives.

Source: www.huffingtonpost.ca

U.S. Cancer Death Rates Continue to Fall: Report

U.S. Cancer Death Rates Continue to Fall: Report

WEDNESDAY, March 28 (HealthDay News) -- Deaths from cancer in the United States continue to decline, health officials report.

However, deaths from some types of cancers are on the increase and racial disparities remain in cancer deaths and diagnosis, according to the report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"This annual report shows that a lot of the positive momentum we have seen in cancer control has continued," said report co-author Dr. Marcus Plescia, director of CDC's Division of Cancer Prevention and Control. "We are still seeing decreases in the incidence in death rates for many cancers and particularly for many of the most common cancers."

The focus of this report was obesity's impact on cancer. "That's important, because we don't think the public is aware of that," Plescia said.

For six cancers, there is good evidence of a relationship between obesity and cancer: esophageal, kidney, pancreatic, endometrial, colorectal and breast cancer, he noted.

In addition to the CDC, researchers from the North American Association of Central Cancer Registries, the U.S. National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society collaborated on the report, which was published online March 28 and will appear in the May print issue of the journal Cancer.

According to the report, the rate of new cancer diagnoses among men dropped an average of 0.6 percent per year between 2004 and 2008.

For women, the rate of cancer dropped 0.5 percent per year from 1998 to 2006, but has leveled off since 2006, the researchers found.

Most of the declines in cancer have been in lung, breast, colon and prostate cancer.

However, cancers of the esophagus, kidney, pancreas, liver and thyroid have been increasing, as well as endometrial cancer, the researchers found.

The increase in these cancers appears largely due to the increase in obesity, Plescia said. Lack of physical activity is also associated with these cancers, he noted.

In addition, melanoma rates are also increasing. The rise in incidence of this skin cancer appears due to continued sun exposure and the use of tanning beds, Plescia said.

The main reasons for the drop in lung cancer rates is mostly due to fewer people smoking, Plescia said.

For the second year in a row, deaths from lung cancer have dropped among women. Among men, the rate had continued to decline since the early 1990s, according to the report.

For other cancers such as colon, breast and prostate, the decreases in deaths is due to screening and better treatments, he said.

However, the rates for breast cancer have leveled off. "I am a little concerned about that, because we ought not to see this leveling off, because we can still be driving these rates down with more women getting screened," Plescia said.

Right now, about 70 percent of women are being screened, but Plescia said he would like to see that increase to at least 85 percent of women.

The screening rates for colon cancer are also still far too low, he added.

Cancer rates have increased among children -- 0.6 percent a year from 2004 to 2008. However, deaths rates from cancer among children dropped 1.3 percent a year in the same period, the researchers said.

Despite the improvements in many cancer rates, racial disparities continue to exist, the researchers found.

From 2004 to 2008, there were more cancers seen among black men and white women.

Deaths from cancer were highest among black men and black women. However, these groups also showed the biggest drops, compared to Asians and Hispanics, the researchers noted.

These differences may be due to differences in risk factors and access to screening and treatment, they suggest.

In addition, "there are studies that show if you are black, Hispanic or American Indian you're likely not to get as good care," Plescia said.

Ahmedin Jemal, vice president of surveillance research at the American Cancer Society, commented that "there is good news, but there are also some worrisome trends because some cancers are increasing, mostly those that are associated with obesity."

A combination of fewer smokers and improvements in cancer screening and treatment has been driving the decline in cancer rates and deaths for the most common cancers, he said.

But, to get the rates down for the cancers that are increasing, more money for research is needed, Jemal said.

People who want to lower their cancer risk should not smoke and maintain a healthy body weight through diet and being physically active, he added.

More information

To learn more about cancer, visit the American Cancer Society.

SOURCES: Marcus Plescia, M.D., director, Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Ahmedin Jemal, Ph.D., vice president, surveillance research, American Cancer Society; March 28, 2012, Cancer, online

Source: health.msn.com

Acne Vulgaris - Male Adolescent Acne, What Should I Do?

Acne Vulgaris - Male Adolescent Acne, What Should I Do?
Lets face it, acne pretty much sucks! It strikes us and teens when we are already struggling to try and fit into a new crowd. Here is a short description of what happens to cause it and a few ideas to help treat your acne.
Source: EzineArticles.com

Antipsychotic Drugs Might Raise Heart Attack Risk: Study

Antipsychotic Drugs Might Raise Heart Attack Risk: Study

WEDNESDAY, March 28 (HealthDay News) -- Antipsychotic drugs can raise the risk of heart attack in older patients with dementia, a new study suggests.

It's common to prescribe antipsychotics to older patients with dementia to control symptoms such as agitation, hallucinations and aggression. Previous studies have found that this use of the drugs may be linked to an increased risk of stroke and death from all causes.

But until now, the risk of heart attack associated with the use of antipsychotic drugs in older people with dementia had been "poorly examined," wrote study author Dr. Antoine Pariente, of Universite Bordeaux Segalen in France, and colleagues.

They looked at nearly 11,000 patients, aged 66 and older, in Quebec who were being treated with cholinesterase inhibitors for dementia and were also prescribed antipsychotics.

Within a year of starting treatment with the antipsychotics, 1.3 percent of the patients had a heart attack. Compared to those not taking antipsychotics, the risk of heart attack among those taking them was 2.19 times higher for the first 30 days, 1.62 times higher for the first 60 days, 1.36 times higher for the first 90 days, and 1.15 times higher for the first year.

"Our study results indicate that the use of [antipsychotic medications] is associated with a modest increase in the risk of [heart attack] among community-dwelling older patients with treated dementia," the researchers wrote. "The increased risk seems to be highest at the beginning of treatment and seems to decrease thereafter, with the first month of treatment accounting for the highest period of risk."

The study, which found an association between antipsychotic use and heart attack but did not prove cause-and-effect, appeared online March 26 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

"Because [antipsychotic] use is frequent in patients with dementia ... the increased risk of [heart attack] may have a major public health effect, which highlights the need for communicating such risk and for close monitoring of patients during the first weeks of treatment," the authors concluded in a journal news release.

Further research is required to learn more about why the use of antipsychotic drugs in dementia patients may increase the risk of heart attack, Dr. Sudeep Gill and Dr. Dallas Seitz, of Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, wrote in an accompanying editorial.

"Meanwhile, physicians should limit prescribing of antipsychotic drugs to patients with dementia and instead use other techniques when available, such as environmental and behavioral strategies, to keep these patients safe and engaged," they suggested.

While the study found an association between antipsychotic drugs and heart attack risk, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more about dementia.

Source: health.msn.com

Is It Good To Use Vitamin C For Acne Scars?

Being one of the wonders among vitamins, using vitamin C for acne scars is a great treatment. All vitamins are important, but this one is responsible for strengthening the immune system, it is an antioxidant, and it actively participates in the wound healing process. Original article

Babesiosis, a Malaria-Like Disease, May Be Rising Among Elderly in U.S.

Babesiosis, a Malaria-Like Disease, May Be Rising Among Elderly in U.S.

Some individuals, particularly elderly individuals who are experiencing flu-like symptoms might be actually suffering from a malaria-like disease called babesiosis. A study by scientists at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and researchers from a consulting firm and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) found that elderly populations living in Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, and Massachusetts had the highest rates of babesiosis among the elderly population and that such infections appear to be on rise in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

The study, which focused on babesiosis diagnosed among elderly (65 years of age and older) Medicare beneficiaries from 2006 through 2008, found that that the disease was diagnosed in this population most often during the summer. Overall, 41% of all cases were diagnosed during the months of July and August. This seasonal concentration of diagnosed cases is probably due to the transmission season of Babesia parasites and activity of the tick that carries Babesia. In addition, people are more likely to spend time outdoors during these months and be exposed to the tick.

The FDA scientists and their collaborators collected data on clinical babesiosis in this population from Medicare enrollment files, as well as data bases from various medical facilities, such as skilled nursing homes. The scientists used the data to estimate the number of cases of babesiosis per each 100,000 Medicare beneficiaries each year from 2006 through 2008.

The number of elderly Medicare patients (65 years of age and older) who had babesiosis from 2006 through 2008 was 985 in 2006, 851 in 2007, and 1,223 in 2008. That is equivalent to rates of 3.6/100,000 beneficiaries (2006), 3.2/100,000 (2007), and 4.7/100,000 (2008).

Annual rates of babesiosis were significantly higher for men versus women and for women aged 65-84 years compared to women 85 years and older. This was consistent with data previously collected by various state health agencies.

Annual rates among elderly whites were 4.0/100,000 (beneficiaries) (2006), 3.6/100,000 (2007), and 5.2/100,000 (2008). The rates among elderly nonwhites were 0.6/100,000 (2006), 0.9/100,000 (2007), and 1.4/100,000 (2008).

Babesiosis is caused by infection of red blood cells by a protozoan (a single-celled parasite) called Babesia which are closed related to the parasites that cause malaria. Babesia infections can be asymptomatic (no visible clinical disease) or cause mild, flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills and aches. Severe complications, including multi-organ failure, and death, occur mostly in people without a spleen, those with immune system dysfunction, and the neonates and elderly. T he Babesia parasite is carried and spread by ticks, which acquire the parasite while feeding on infected mice or some other mammals.

The study is important because it suggests that large administrative healthcare databases such as those maintained by Medicare, state public health departments, and health insurance companies can be used to assess the risk of emerging infections in the United States.

Title

“Babesiosis among Elderly Medicare Beneficiaries, United States, 2006-2008”

Emerging Infectious Diseases
Vol. 18, No. 1, January 2012

Authors:

Mikhail Menis, Steven A. Anderson, Hector S. Izurieta, Sanjai Kumar, Dale R. Burwen, Mark Walderhaug (CBER, US Food and Drug Administration)

Jonathan Gibbs, Garner Kropp, Tugce Erten, Thomas E. MaCurdy (Acumen LLC, Burlingame, California)

Christopher M. Worrall and Jeffrey A. Kelman (Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services, Baltimore, MD)

---

Please note:

While there are currently no FDA-approved laboratory tests to detect Babesia infections in blood donors, workers at blood collection centers can screen for potential donors who have ever had babesiosis. The current full-length donor history questionnaire specifically asks prospective donors if they have ever had babesiosis:

Full-Length Donor History Questionnaire

In addition, CBER held a workshop in September 2008 to discuss transfusion-transmitted babesiosis with experts:

Workshop to Consider Approaches to Reduce The Risk Of Transfusion-Transmitted Babesiosis In The United States

CBER also sought advice on blood donor testing and screening strategies from its Blood Products Advisory Committee in July 2010:

July 26-27, 2010 Meeting of the Blood Products Advisory Committee

CBER scientists are now working to evaluate two types of laboratory test that can differentiate between potential donors who are currently infected from those who were previously exposed to this parasite but are not currently infected.

-

Source: www.fda.gov

Too Much Sitting Can Kill You, Study Suggests

MONDAY, March 26 (HealthDay News) -- For better health, try standing up more, a new study suggests. Those who spend 11 or more hours a day sitting are 40 percent more likely to die over the next three years regardless of how physically active they are otherwise, researchers say.

Analyzing self-reported data from more than 222,000 people aged 45 and older, Australian researchers found that mortality risks spike after 11 hours of total daily sitting but are still 15 percent higher for those sitting between 8 and 11 hours compared to those sitting fewer than 4 hours per day.

"The evidence on the detrimental health effects of prolonged sitting has been building over the last few years," said study author Hidde van der Ploeg, a senior research fellow at the University of Sydney. "The study stands out because of its large number of participants and the fact that it was one of the first that was able to look at total sitting time. Most of the evidence to date had been on the health risks of prolonged television viewing."

The study is published in the March 26 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Average adults spend 90 percent of their leisure time sitting down, van der Ploeg said, and fewer than half meet World Health Organization recommendations for 150 minutes of at least moderate-intensity physical activity each week.

The data was collected as part of Australia's 45 and Up Study, a large, ongoing study of healthy aging. Strikingly, the elevated risks for dying from all causes remained even after taking into account participants' physical activity, weight and health status.

Sixty-two percent of participants said they were overweight or obese (a similar proportion to Americans), while nearly 87 percent said they were in good to excellent health, and one-quarter said they spent at least 8 hours each day sitting.

Inactive participants who sat the most had double the risk of dying within three years compared to active people who sat least, van der Ploeg said, and among physically inactive adults, those who sat the most had nearly one-third higher odds of dying than those who sat least.

Because many people must sit for long hours at their jobs, they should make sure a greater portion of their leisure time is spent standing, walking or engaging in other movement, said Dr. Suzanne Steinbaum, director of Women and Heart Disease at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and a spokesperson for the American Heart Association.

"Yes, you have to work, but when you go home it's so important you don't go back to sitting in front of the computer or television," Steinbaum said. "After the 8-hour mark, the risks go up exponentially. It's really about what you're doing in your leisure time and making the decision to move."

Several workplaces in Australia are testing sit-stand work stations, van der Ploeg said -- a generally well-received initiative that may be a future option for other offices. "Try ways to break up your sitting and add in more standing or walking where possible," she suggested.

While the study uncovered an association between total sitting hours and death risk, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

The study was limited by the relatively short follow-up period of less than three years, experts said, which may have obscured undiagnosed health problems among participants that could have led to earlier death. Dr. David Friedman, chief of heart failure services at North Shore Plainview Hospital in Plainview, N.Y., said those who sit longer "tend to be sicker, have obesity issues and cardiovascular problems. Perhaps they're less ambulatory in the first place."

Van der Ploeg acknowledged these limitations and said more studies will need to replicate the findings and focus more on sitting's influence on developing conditions such as diabetes, cancer and heart disease.

"Studies that measure sitting time with activity monitors instead of questionnaires will also help build the evidence base," she said. "All these studies will further inform us of the exact relationship between sitting and health conditions, which ultimately will result in public health recommendations like we already have for physical activity."

More information

Read more about the World Health Organization's physical activity recommendations.

SOURCES: Hidde van der Ploeg, Ph.D., senior research fellow, Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Australia; David Friedman, M.D., chief, heart failure services, North Shore Plainview Hospital, Plainview, N.Y.; Suzanne Steinbaum, M.D., director, Women and Heart Disease, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City, and spokesperson, American Heart Association; March 26, 2012, Archives of Internal Medicine

News Source

New Injection Might Lower Tough-to-Treat Cholesterol

New Injection Might Lower Tough-to-Treat Cholesterol

MONDAY, March 26 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers report that injections of a novel "monoclonal antibody" lowered LDL cholesterol levels in patients with high cholesterol by as much as 72 percent.

This new treatment could help lower levels of "bad" cholesterol for the one in five people who don't respond to the commonly prescribed cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins. It may also be helpful in patients who can't get their cholesterol low enough with statins alone, the researchers added.

"If this pans out, it will be a whole new approach to lowering cholesterol," James McKenney, chief executive officer of National Clinical Research Inc., said during a Monday press briefing at the American College of Cardiology annual meeting in Chicago, where the research was to be presented. A report on the findings was published simultaneously in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The experimental compound appeared to lower LDL cholesterol by making it easier for the liver to remove LDL cholesterol from the bloodstream, McKenney said. Monoclonal antibodies are antibodies cloned from a single cell, which are all identical because they are cloned, the researchers explained.

The study was funded by the drug's manufacturers: Sanofi U.S. and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. The research company that McKenney works for has also received funding from both drug makers.

For this phase 2 study, McKenney's team randomly assigned 183 patients with high cholesterol who had been treated with Lipitor (atorvastatin) for more than six weeks, to one of six groups.

Three groups were given injections of the new drug in high, medium or low doses every two weeks. Two other groups were given very high doses of the drug every four weeks. The sixth group received a placebo.

After 12 weeks, the researchers found those who received the low dose of the monoclonal antibody saw their LDL levels drop by 40 percent. For those given the medium dose, LDL levels decreased 64 percent while those given the high dose saw their cholesterol levels drop by 72 percent.

For those in the two groups taking very high doses every four weeks, the drops in LDL cholesterol were 43 percent and 48 percent, the researchers said.

McKenney noted there is a long way to go and much more research is needed before this drug is ready for public use. Since it would need to be taken regularly, he see it as akin to insulin where the patient can inject the drug in measured doses.

In terms of cost, it's far too early to say what a patient would have to spend for this therapy, the researchers said.

Longer trials are planned. The study authors said they feel confident that the drug is safe and effective, but they need to confirm the results over the long-term.

Dr. Gregg Fonarow, director of the Ahmanson UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center and co-director of the UCLA Preventative Cardiology Program, said that "statin therapy has been remarkably effective in reducing fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events."

Yet, many patients cannot achieve optimal reduction in LDL cholesterol levels with statins and some patients do not tolerate statins well, he noted.

"This novel, new therapy is exceptionally promising," Fonarow said. "Achieving LDL cholesterol reductions of up to 72 percent on top of statin therapy is very impressive."

"If further studies demonstrate the long-term safety, efficacy and effectiveness of this therapy, this will represent a tremendous advance in preventing and treating cardiovascular disease, which has remained the leading cause of premature death and disability in men and women," Fonarow added.

Results of another study also due to be presented Monday suggest that starting statin therapy early in life might significantly reduce the risk for heart disease.

Rather than actually treating patients with statins, the researchers used a type of study that looks at changes in DNA that, in this case, were linked to lower levels of cholesterol.

Since one has these mutations at birth, it's like being blessed with naturally low cholesterol. These mutations stand in for statin therapy, lead researcher Dr. Brian Ference, director of the cardiovascular genomic research center at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Indiana, said during Monday's press conference.

"This research is a way of finding out the effects of lowering cholesterol early without having a lengthy clinical trial," Ference said.

The researchers looked at genes from participants of several studies, one including more than 350,000 patients, and found nine specific mutations.

For each single measure of reduced lifetime exposure to LDL cholesterol associated with having the mutations, the researchers found a 50 percent to 60 percent reduction in heart disease risk.

Because the second study was presented at a medical meeting, its conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

For more about cholesterol, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

SOURCES: Gregg C. Fonarow, M.D., director, Ahmanson UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center, co-director, UCLA Preventative Cardiology Program; March 26, 2012, press briefing with: James McKenney, Pharm.D, chief executive officer, National Clinical Research Inc.; Brian A. Ference, M.D., director, cardiovascular genomic research center, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit; March 26, 2012, presentations, American College of Cardiology annual meeting, Chicago; March 26, 2012, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, online

Source: health.msn.com

And The Most Walkable City Is ...

And The Most Walkable City Is ...

You don't need fancy workout equipment or a pricey gym membership to get in shape. Plain old walking is one of the easiest -- and cheapest! -- forms of exercise, and it's seriously effective.

Walking boasts many of the health benefits associated with any type of physical activity, like lower cholesterol and blood pressure, weight management and lifted spirits -- but without the injury-causing impact of something more intense, like running. Walking just an hour a day can lessen the effects of genes that influence us toward obesity. It's also easy to sneak in a few extra minutes of walking throughout your day, by parking farther away in lots, opting to take the stairs instead of the elevator or going on walking meetings at work.

In urban areas designed for walking, markets, drugstores and perhaps even the office might be in walking distance, but in sprawling suburbs or towns without sidewalks, ditching the car might not be feasible for everyone. However, research shows that improving a town's walkability can help keep its residents maintain a healthy weight.

With the help of Walkscore.com, Prevention magazine assembled a list of the top 25 cities for walkability. Click through the slideshow below to see the top 10, and be sure to click over to Prevention.com for the full list. The closer a city on this list scores to 100, the better it is for walking. Then, tell us in the comments if you agree or disagree, and if your city made the list.

10. Newark, New Jersey

1  of  12

For more on fitness and exercise, click here.

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Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Revitol Acnezine Is the Best Remedy Which Can Cure Your Acne Problem!

Do you have to face embarrassment because of Acne then you need to go for Acnezine acne treatment which will make you free from the acne problem. As such there are many treatments available in the market to cure acne but none is effective than Revitol Acnezine. Rest of the article

'Freezing' Secondary Breast Cancer Tumors Shows Promise

'Freezing' Secondary Breast Cancer Tumors Shows Promise

MONDAY, March 26 (HealthDay News) -- In a small and preliminary study, researchers report that they successfully froze secondary tumors in patients with incurable breast cancer.

The findings raise the prospect of a potential new treatment for metastatic tumors in individual patients, although the research is in the very early stages.

"This therapy provides a minimal rate of cancer recurrence and no major complications," study co-author Dr. Peter Littrup, director of imaging core and radiology research at the Karmanos Cancer Institute in Detroit, said in a news release from the Society of Interventional Radiology.

The study is scheduled to be presented Wednesday at the society's annual meeting in San Francisco. Research presented at medical meetings should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

"This is a preliminary study, and at this point we're hoping that the evidence could be a stepping stone for a bigger study to look at more patients," Littrup said. "If we can get more data that supports percutaneous cryoablation for metastatic breast cancer, it could be a huge finding."

In percutaneous cryoablation, tiny probes insert pressurized argon gas into tumors and kill them by turning them into balls of ice.

The eight patients in the study had stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, meaning their tumors had spread widely from the breast. The tumors frequently appear in organs such as the liver, lungs, bones and kidneys.

In stage 4, the disease is considered incurable.

"At this point, treatments are considered palliative -- with the intent to keep metastases at bay while hopefully providing individuals more time and improved quality of life, rather than a complete cure," Littrup said.

"Cryoablation as a targeted therapy is beneficial because it can significantly reduce discomfort and incidence of disease," Littrup said. "It's a much better option, we think, than surgery -- especially since many metastatic patients are not candidates for surgery -- and it may potentially lead to longer survival."

The eight patients in the study lived for an average of 46 months, and two survived for at least five years.

Dr. Hannah Linden, an oncology specialist and assistant professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, said it's too early to know whether the treatment works since it hasn't been compared to other therapies.

"Many patients with metastatic breast cancer live a long time with gentle treatments, yet other patients who have relatively resistant tumors do poorly," she said. "While the idea of freezing a tumor to prevent it from growing is feasible and exciting, it is not proven that such an approach actually 'cures' patients or provides long-term benefit."

Although similar treatments target secondary tumors, she added, they "do not address the systemic problem of metastatic cancer. So, while it seems good to 'kill' the metastasis, the cancer is still lurking."

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, killing nearly 370,000 people worldwide each year. Approximately 10,000 to 15,000 new cases of stage 4 breast cancer occur in the United States each year, Littrup noted.

More information

For more about breast cancer, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

SOURCES: Society of Interventional Radiology, news release, March 26, 2012; Hannah Linden, M.D., assistant professor, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle

Source: health.msn.com

Low 'Bad' Cholesterol Levels May Be Linked to Cancer Risk

SUNDAY, March 25 (HealthDay News) -- There may be a link between low levels of "bad" low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and increased cancer risk, according to new research.

In the study, researchers looked at 201 cancer patients and 402 cancer-free patients. They found that cancer patients who never took cholesterol-lowering drugs had low LDL cholesterol levels for an average of about 19 years prior to their cancer diagnosis.

The finding suggests there may be some underlying mechanism that affects both LDL cholesterol levels and cancer risk, the study authors said.

Still, other experts cautioned that the finding is preliminary, and lowering your LDL levels is well known to cut the odds for the number one killer, heart disease.

The study was slated for presentation Sunday at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) annual meeting in Chicago.

Previous studies of cholesterol-lowering drugs have suggested a strong link between low LDL cholesterol levels and cancer risk. This new study is the first to investigate the association between low LDL cholesterol levels and cancer risk over an extended period of time only in cancer patients who have never taken cholesterol-lowering medication, the researchers said.

"There has been some debate as to whether or not medications used to lower cholesterol may contribute to cancer, but the evidence so far tells us that the drugs themselves do not increase the risk of cancer. We wanted to take those medications out of the equation and just look at the link between cancer and low LDL cholesterol itself in people who had never taken statins or other cholesterol-lowering drugs," lead investigator Dr. Paul Michael Lavigne of Tufts Medical Center in Boston, said in an ACC news release.

Although the study uncovered an association between low LDL levels and increased cancer risk, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

A cardiology expert weighed in on the new study.

"I strongly believe that lowering LDL cholesterol significantly lowers the risk of cardiovascular events, but the association between low LDL cholesterol and cancer remains a hypothesis that requires further testing," said Dr. Jeffrey Berger, director of cardiovascular thrombosis at NYU Langone Medical Center and an assistant professor at the NYU School of Medicine in New York City.

"The association between low LDL cholesterol and the risk of cancer has become a topic of increasing interest, but conclusions cannot be drawn from this study," Berger added. "The study suggests that there may be some sort of unique attribute among subjects that already have a low LDL cholesterol that may make them susceptible to cancer, but future studies will have to look at why that is."

Study author Lavigne said the findings do not suggest that having low LDL cholesterol somehow leads to the development of cancer, and urged patients with high LDL cholesterol to continue treatment to lower their LDL cholesterol in order to prevent heart disease.

"There is no evidence to indicate that lowering your cholesterol with a medication in any way predisposes to a risk for cancer. We suspect there may be some underlying mechanism affecting both cancer and low LDL cholesterol, but we can only say definitively that the relationship between the two exists for many years prior to cancer diagnosis, and therefore underscores the need for further examination," Lavigne said.

Another expert agreed that patients should not abandon cholesterol-lowering lifestyle changes or medications based on the new findings.

Dr. David Friedman, chief of heart failure services at North Shore Plainview Hospital in Plainview, N.Y., said that "statins used for LDL reduction shouldn't be stopped if there is an appropriate use to lower heart disease risk."

Because this study was presented at a medical meeting, the data and conclusions should be viewed as preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The American Heart Association has more about good and bad cholesterol.

SOURCES: Jeffery S. Berger, M.D., M.S., director, cardiovascular thrombosis, NYU Langone Medical Center and assistant professor, NYU School of Medicine, New York City; David A. Friedman, MD, chief of heart failure services at North Shore Plainview Hospital, Plainview NY; American College of Cardiology, news release, March 25, 2012

News Source

Hormonal Changes May Trigger Migraines in Some Women

Hormonal Changes May Trigger Migraines in Some Women

FRIDAY, March 23 (HealthDay News) -- Hormonal changes are a major reason women are far more likely than men to have migraine headaches, research suggests.

About 30 million Americans suffer from migraines, and women are nearly three times more likely to have them than men, National Headache Foundation data indicates.

"Hormonal changes are a big contributor to the higher female incidence," Dr. Michael Moskowitz, a professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School in Boston, said in a news release from the Society for Women's Health Research. "There are lines of evidence that support this from lab to clinical evidence and a decreased [although not abolished] incidence in postmenopausal females."

Women who experience migraines may find they often occur just before or just after the onset of menstruation. Also, women's patterns of migraines may change during pregnancy and/or menopause.

Many other factors can increase the risk of having migraine headaches for both men and women:

• Heredity: People with a family history of the painful attacks, and especially those with one or more first-degree relatives with migraines, are at significantly increased risk.
• Age: People typically experience migraines between the ages of 15 and 55, and the first attack usually occurs before age 40.
• Medical conditions: Certain health problems, such as high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, stroke and epilepsy, have been associated with migraines.

Although there is no cure, migraines can be managed effectively with the help of a doctor. Many drugs are available for prevention and pain relief, and lifestyle changes can eliminate some triggers that cause migraines, Moskowitz said in the news release.

More information

The U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has more about migraines.

Source: health.msn.com

Showing Patients Images of Their Clogged Arteries a Powerful Wake-Up Call

SATURDAY, March 24 (HealthDay News) -- Showing patients with clogged arteries evidence of their condition makes them more likely to stick with treatments such as weight loss and cholesterol-lowering statins, two related studies found.

Coronary artery disease is the most common type of heart disease in Americans, but many patients fail to adhere to therapies that can treat or prevent heart disease. For example, patient compliance with statin therapy has been reported to be as low as 20 percent to 50 percent, the researchers said.

The two studies included patients who underwent coronary artery calcium scoring with cardiac CT, a test that takes clear, detailed pictures of the heart.

Patients with the most severe coronary artery disease who saw images of their heart were 2.5 times more likely to take statins as directed, and more than three times more likely to lose weight as those whose scans showed little or no evidence of disease.

The studies were scheduled for presentation Saturday at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) annual meeting in Chicago.

"Beyond the diagnostic and predictive value of cardiac computed tomography, it is also quite beneficial in terms of motivating people to pursue behaviors that we know result in a reduction in cardiovascular" disease and death, Dr. Nove Kalia, one of the lead investigators for both studies, said in an ACC news release.

"Seeing a coronary artery calcium scan gives patients a visual picture of how severe their disease is, and this picture seems to have a really big impact," Kalia added. "With increasing use of noninvasive imaging, it seems we already have a powerful tool in helping to motivate patients to be compliant. While we haven't clarified whether this increased compliance results in reductions in [heart] event rates, we have extrapolated that this would likely be the case. I think we may find this can also help improve outcomes."

More information

The American Academy of Family Physicians has more about coronary artery disease.

Source

Caring Teachers May Help Keep Kids From Trying Alcohol, Drugs

Caring Teachers May Help Keep Kids From Trying Alcohol, Drugs

FRIDAY, March 23 (HealthDay News) -- The connections youth have with their teachers may help prevent kids from experimenting with alcohol and drugs at an early age, a new study suggests.

The researchers found that students in middle school who felt more emotional support from teachers had a lower risk of early alcohol and illicit drug use. The students defined teacher support as feeling close to a teacher or being able to discuss problems with a teacher.

"Our results were surprising," Carolyn McCarty, of Seattle Children's Research Institute, said in an institute news release. "We have known that middle school teachers are important in the lives of young people, but this is the first data-driven study which shows that teacher support is associated with lower levels of early alcohol use."

Parental ties also mattered, according to the study. The researchers explained that youth who are close to or who have separation anxiety from their parents may be less susceptible to negative peer influences, including experimentation with risky behavior such as alcohol use.

"Teens in general seek new sensations or experiences and they take more risks when they are with peers," said McCarty, who is also a research associate professor at the University of Washington in Seattle. "Youth with separation-anxiety symptoms may be protected by virtue of their intense connection to their parents, making them less likely to be in settings where substance-use initiation is possible."

The study also found that middle school students who began using alcohol and illicit drugs before sixth grade had significantly higher levels of depressive symptoms, which suggests that depression may be a consequence of very early use of alcohol or drugs. It also may indicate that depression is a risk factor for alcohol and drug use before middle school, the researchers said.

The findings from the study of 521 youth in Seattle public schools appears online in the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.

"Based on the study and our findings, substance-use prevention needs to be addressed on a multidimensional level," McCarty said. "We need to be aware of and monitor early adolescent stress levels, and parents, teachers and adults need to tune into kids' mental health. We know that youth who initiate substance abuse before age 14 are at a high risk of long-term substance abuse problems and myriad health complications."

Although the study found an association between close relationships with teachers and parents and less risk of drug or alcohol use in middle school students, it did not prove that those relationships are the reason why those children were less likely to use drugs or alcohol.

More information

The U.S. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism offers advice on parenting to prevent childhood alcohol use.

Source: health.msn.com

Susan Blumenthal, M.D.: World Tuberculosis Day 2012: Stopping Tuberculosis in Our Lifetimes

Susan Blumenthal, M.D.: World Tuberculosis Day 2012: Stopping Tuberculosis in Our Lifetimes

By Susan Blumenthal, M.D, M.P.A.
Written in collaboration with Yoonhee Ha, M.Sc.

This Saturday, March 24 is World Tuberculosis Day, marking the 130th anniversary of Dr. Robert Koch's discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the microbe that causes tuberculosis. This year, the Stop TB Partnership, an international collaborative of governmental and non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and others dedicated to fighting tuberculosis, has adopted "Stop TB in My Lifetime" as its theme for World Tuberculosis Day. Yet, nearly a century and a half after Koch's discovery, stopping tuberculosis in our lifetimes is a formidable challenge. A $1.7 billion dollar shortfall for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria over the next five years means that 3.4 million patients may go untreated. This could reverse the important gains that have been made over the past years in the fight against this disease. The Global Fund provides 80 percent of external resources for TB eradication and treatment. Since this public/private partnership was established in 2002, the organization has helped detect and treat 8.6 million cases of TB [1].

TB is one of the most widespread infectious illnesses in the world -- with an estimated one-third of people globally infected with the bacteria that causes TB according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In 2010, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that there were an alarming 8.8 million new cases of active tuberculosis and 1.4 million deaths caused by this disease, making it the eighth leading cause of death globally [2,3]. However, these numbers represent a decline in new cases since 2005. With 95 percent of TB deaths occurring in developing countries, tuberculosis is a public health problem that disproportionately affects the poor and young adults in their most productive years [4]. Furthermore, there were 9.7 million orphaned children as a result of their parents' death from TB.

Significantly fewer people die of tuberculosis in developed countries, but the disease nonetheless remains a health threat in the United States, with more than 10,521 cases reported in 2011 [5,1]. TB is a public health tragedy, given that it is both preventable and curable. However, this week there was some good news: TB infections in America have dropped to record lows, falling 6.4 percent in 2011, but still missing a national target for eliminating the disease. TB rates are 12 times higher among people living in the U.S. who were born outside the country. Compared with whites, TB rates were seven times higher for Hispanics, eight times higher for blacks, and 25 times higher for Asians in America last year. Four states -- California, Texas, New York, and Florida -- account for nearly half of all TB cases in the United States. According to a recent CDC report, unless circumstances change significantly, the U.S. will not be able to eradicate TB until 2100.

The symptoms of tuberculosis include coughing, chest pain, fatigue, fever, weight loss, chills, night sweats, and loss of appetite. While TB most often affects the lungs, it can also affect the brain, kidneys, or spine. The disease can spread when an individual with active tuberculosis -- a disease state characterized by actively dividing bacteria -- coughs, sneezes, talks, or spits, releasing droplets containing M. tuberculosis into the air. If other people inhale these droplets, they may acquire the disease. Without treatment, individuals with active TB will infect an average of 10 to 15 people each year, and can ultimately die from the disease. Individuals with latent tuberculosis -- characterized by non-dividing bacteria -- are symptomless and unable to infect others, but they remain at risk of developing active disease if they are not treated. It is estimated that one-third of the world's population currently has latent tuberculosis [6].

Significant progress has been made in the fight against TB in recent decades. Since 1990, there has been a 40 percent decline in the global death rate for this disease, and the world was on track until the recent funding shortfalls to achieve the Millennium Development Goal 6 target that aims to halt and reverse the tuberculosis incidence rate by 2015 [3,4].

One major advance has been the implementation of Directly Observed Therapy Short-Course (DOTS), a multi-pronged tuberculosis control strategy best known for its use of health care workers to supervise the administration of TB therapy. This approach has dramatically improved treatment rates and patient survival. DOTS has five key components: 1) sustained political and financial commitment; 2) diagnosis by quality-ensured sputum-smear microscopy; 3) standardized short-course anti TB treatment given under direct and supportive observation; 4) a regular, uninterrupted supply of high quality anti-TB drugs; and 5) standardized treatment and reporting. Globally, by 2007, 99 percent of all cases of TB reported to WHO were being treated in DOTS programs. In 2009, DOTS had a treatment success rate of 87 percent -- its highest level to date. Since 1995, 46 million people have been successfully treated and up to 6.8 million lives have been saved through DOTS and the Stop TB Strategy. And this month, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that its integrated prevention, diagnosis, and treatment efforts for tuberculosis and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevented an estimated 910,000 deaths in six years [7].

While these efforts have made a lifesaving difference for many, much more remains to be done. Here is why:

• Tuberculosis prevention is limited by the lack of an effective vaccine. The existing Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccine has limited success in preventing tuberculosis infection. When successful, protection is estimated to last around 15 years. Furthermore, the vaccine has been shown to cause potentially fatal infection when given to HIV-positive adults or to children with weak immune systems [9].
• Many resource-poor countries lack the necessary infrastructure, equipment, and trained personnel needed to accurately diagnose tuberculosis and differentiate between drug-resistant strains. As a result, many infected people remain undiagnosed or receive non-effective treatments. The WHO's recent endorsement of the Xpert MTB/RIF, a diagnostic test that is capable of detecting M. tuberculosis and resistance to the drug rifampicin in two hours, represents a major step forward in reducing the time required for diagnosis and detection of multi-drug resistant (MDR) tuberculosis (the type that is resistant to the two most powerful first line TB drugs). However, there is still a need for additional rapid diagnostic tests that are both accurate and affordable for use in the developing world.
• Existing treatment regimens require patients with active tuberculosis to take multiple drugs for months at a time, making treatment adherence challenging. This, along with the prescribing of incorrect drugs, has contributed to the emergence and spread of MDR and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) tuberculosis. In 2010, there was an estimated prevalence of 650,000 cases of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and in 2008, 150,000 deaths annually. Because these types of tuberculosis are very difficult and costly to treat, they provide significant challenges to TB control efforts.
• TB control efforts are also complicated by the co-existence of tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS. Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death for people with HIV/AIDS worldwide. Because people with HIV/AIDS have weakened immune systems, they have a 20-37 times greater risk of developing active tuberculosis than people without HIV/AIDS [8]. Yet rates of TB testing among HIV patients and provision of ARV therapy to co-infected individuals remains low.
• Current projected shortfalls in funding are jeopardizing the progress that has been made in tuberculosis care and control. Worldwide, the share of domestic funding for TB provided by affected countries rose to 86 percent. But most low-income countries still depend on external funding with The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria -- an international public-private funding institution to which the United States is the largest contributor -- providing 82 percent of international TB support in 2012. Other important sources of funding include President Obama's Global Health Initiative (TB is one of GHI's six focus areas), PEPFAR, and the Gates Foundation [3, 9]. In March 2010, in response to Congressional reporting requirements to develop a coordinated approach to global TB, several U.S. government agencies released a joint TB strategy to accelerate the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of TB; scale up prevention and treatment of MDR-TB; expand coverage of interventions for TB-HIV co-infections in coordination with PEPFAR programs; and strengthen national health systems. The United States currently provides bilateral TB assistance to 40 countries. Alarmingly, due to the current economic crisis, U.S. funding for PEPFAR may be cut. Furthermore, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has announced that due to limited resources this year, it would postpone all new program grants until at least 2014. Overall funding for tuberculosis is expected to total $4.4 billion in 2012, which falls $1.7 billion short of projected needs. At $0.6 billion, funding for MDR tuberculosis faces a resource gap of $200 million. This lack of resources jeopardizes the gains that have made against this disease in recent years [1].

Addressing each of these challenges will be essential to eliminating tuberculosis in the years ahead. Many of the tools currently used for TB prevention, diagnosis, and treatment are antiquated and have limited success rates. Given the toll that TB takes on the world's population, an effective vaccine, rapid diagnostic tests, shortened, effective treatment regimens, and more research on the illness are required. That's why increased funding is urgently needed to develop 21st-century approaches. In order to ensure that new tools are developed and today's treatments are provided, governments must prioritize tuberculosis as a public health priority and close the projected gaps in domestic and international funding. In areas with a high burden of HIV/AIDS, scaling up joint HIV/TB prevention, diagnosis, and treatment activities will play a critical role in reducing tuberculosis and HIV-related deaths.

Nearly one and a half centuries have passed since Koch's discovery of the causative agent of tuberculosis; significant progress has been made with declining death rates globally but the disease nonetheless remains a leading killer in the developing world and a public health threat in the United States as well. As UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently underscored, intensified global solidarity is needed. "Countries must implement policies that not only raise awareness about the issue but provide accessible health care to their citizens." For those affected by the disease, stopping tuberculosis cannot wait a lifetime.

To learn more, visit:
World Health Organization -- http://www.who.int/tb/en
Stop TB Partnership -- http://www.stoptb.org
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) -- http://www.cdc.gov/tb

Rear Admiral Susan Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.A. (ret.) is the Public Health Editor of the Huffington Post. She is the Director of the Health and Medicine Program at the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress in Washington, D.C., a Clinical Professor at Georgetown and Tufts University Schools of Medicine, Chair of the Global Health Program at the Meridian International Center, and Senior Policy and Medical Advisor at amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research. Dr. Blumenthal served for more than 20 years in senior health leadership positions in the Federal government in the Administrations of four U.S. Presidents, including as Assistant Surgeon General of the United States, the first Deputy Assistant Secretary of Women's Health, as a White House Advisor on Health, and as Chief of the Behavioral Medicine and Basic Prevention Research Branch at the National Institutes of Health. Admiral Blumenthal has received numerous awards including honorary doctorates and has been decorated with the highest medals of the US Public Health Service for her pioneering leadership and significant contributions to advancing health in the United States and worldwide. She is the recipient of the 2009 Health Leader of the Year Award from the Commissioned Officers Association and was named as a Rock Star of Science by the Geoffrey Beene Foundation and GQ magazine.

Yoonhee Ha, M.Sc., is an M.D.-Ph.D. candidate, Paul and Daisy Soros Fellow for New Americans, and P.E.O. Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. She was a Marshall and Truman Scholar and completed graduate studies in public health at London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

For more articles by Susan Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.A., click here.

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References
[1] Reuters: "Funding cuts put 3.4 million TB patients at risk: NGOS."
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/03/23/us-tuberculosis-funding-idUKBRE82M00A20120323 Accessed 23 March 2012.
[2] World Health Organization: The top 10 causes of death. June 2011. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs310/en/index.html. Accessed 7 March 2012.
[3] World Health Organization: Global tuberculosis control 2011. October 2011. http://www.who.int/tb/publications/global_report/2011/gtbr11_full.pdf. Accessed 19 February 2012.
[4] World Health Organization: Tuberculosis facts 2011/2012. 2011. http://www.who.int/tb/publications/2011/factsheet_tb_2011.pdf. Accessed 19 February 2012.
[5] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Reported tuberculosis in the United States, 2010. October 2011. http://www.cdc.gov/tb/statistics/reports/2010/pdf/report2010.pdf. Accessed 19 February 2012.
[6] World Health Organization: World TB Day. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/annual/world_tb_day/en/index.html. Accessed 19 February 2012.
[7] World Health Organization: More than 900 000 lives saved by protecting people living with HIV from TB. 2 March 2012. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2012/tb_hiv_guide_20120302/en/index.html. Accessed 4 March 2012.
[8] World Health Organization: Guidelines for intensified tuberculosis case-finding and isoniazid preventive therapy for people living with HIV in resource-constrained settings. 1 May 2011. http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2011/9789241500708_eng.pdf. Accessed 12 March 2012.
[9] Congressional Research Service: Kendall, A.E. U.S. response to the global threat of tuberculosis: basic facts. 5 January 2012. Accessed 18 March 2012.

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com